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“All of them it is.” He glanced at Mia. “Let’s pull them out of the freezer and bag them up. Then it’s time to head over to Dom’s.”
Despite Mia’s trepidation, the entire Salvatore clan greeted her without a hint of suspicion or judgement showing in their expressions, words, or attitude. Well, other than Soren. But one look from Dom brought him instantly inline.
Each couple introduced themselves and though she tried to keep everyone straight, she had to check with Brand to make sure she had all the relationships correct.
Luc was the oldest, married to Grace, who spent most of the day wrangling their two sons, Gio and Leandro, who she laughingly referred to as Lion. Matteo and Hanna joined in attempting to keep their two-year-old twin boys from pulling food off the table or ripping open the presents tucked under the Christmastree.
Nellie, hugely pregnant, came to sit next to her. “That’ll be me next year. Twins, like Matteo and Hanna.”
“I gather twins run in the family?”
“Sure do. My husband, Dante, and Matteo are twins. And Hanna and I will each have a set. I’d say we’re both two and through, but our husbands want an entire tribe.” Nellie’s laugh turned into a pained groan. “I swear, these boys are having a wrestling match in there. Ithink they’re going to emerge like a pair of WWE combatants.”
Mia sighed. “Sort of like Soren and Brand these days.”
Nellie’s expression instantly turned sympathetic. “He’ll come around. He’s just being protective of baby brother. He doesn’t realize Brand is neither a baby nor in need of protection. Nor does he see that you don’t give off Carina vibes. We’d all have picked up on it if you had.”
“Thanks, Iguess?”
Nellie winced. “Me and my tactlessness. I’m sorry. Ididn’t mean to offend you. I’m sure you loved your cousin very much and must miss her.”
“I do. But I’m also not blind to her flaws. Or the fact that she didn’t make life easy for Brand.”
“Despite that, she adored her daughter.”
Mia’s gaze shifted to Toni. “Yes, she did. Ido, as well. She’s a special little girl.”
“No question there.” Nellie struggled to stand, grinning as Mia helped pull her to her feet. “Come on. I’m starved and there’s an entire buffet calling my name.”
The rest of the evening passed with everyone going out of their way to treat Mia as one of the family. If it hadn’t been for Soren’s grim presence watching her every move, she would have been delighted.
After dinner, the children gathered in front of the television to watch a Christmas show while Mia served the adults Anna’s recipe for coffee and biscotti.
For some reason, Mia’s gaze was drawn to Dom, watching as he took a bite of biscotti and a sip of coffee. To her horror, tears came to his eyes and slid down his weathered cheeks.
“Dom?” she whispered. “Is something wrong?”
“Where did you learn to make this coffee and biscotti? The recipe is that of my precious Antonia. Ihave never tasted anything that came close to it until now.”
Pieces of the puzzle surrounding her dreams dropped into place. “Wait. Did anyone ever call her Anna?”
“Only I,” Dom admitted.
“Would you … would you believe I learned how to make the coffee and biscotti from a woman in a series of dreams? The woman who taught me called herself Anna.”
Without a word, Dom took her by the hand and ushered her to a grouping of photos on a buffet table in the dining room. “Do you see her here?”
“Oh, my God.” Shock speared through Mia and she instantly pointed to one of the photos of a young woman laughing into the camera. “That’s her. That’s the woman from my dreams.”
“My Anna.” Dom’s voice broke. “She was well? Happy?”
“Very.” Mia gave Dom a gentle hug. “She’s the one who led me to Brand. She insisted I attend the Cinderella Ball.”
“And I insisted Brand attend.” He fumbled in his pocket for a handkerchief and wiped his eyes. “My precious Antonia. She still watches over us and guides us.”
“I’m honored she chose to visit me, if only in my dreams.”
“Really? You saw my mother in a dream?” Soren interrupted, his questions full of scorn. “You sure you didn’t get the recipe from your cousin? Away to ingratiate yourself with my father?”
